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Technology and Digital Transformation – Lessons from the Front Lines-Post-Covid

James Sharp 1829 views Reading Time: 5 minutes

In the post-covid digital transformation world, many CEOs spend the majority of their days in meetings, discussing post covid back to work projects such as office sanitizing, plexiglass workspace dividers, on site vaccinations, and hybrid work timing.

Since Covid, many companies have taken part in various digital transformation projects that have been put on hold for all the logical reasons we have come to know. But deferred digital transformation is different from delaying an IT upgrade or fixing a nagging problem: it is stalling the delivery of significant improvement to all aspects of a business organization. In a nutshell, a successful digital transformation project makes businesses more competitive and employees more efficient.

Digital Transformation Post Covid

When examining a digital transformation project from the inside out, one must look at transforming all internal functions of an organization through the lenses of the employees. Here are the recent examples of digital transformation:

Human Resources: Automating the search, application, interviewing, onboarding, training and recognition and reward work processes through the deployment of HCM software, automated workflows, and reengineered business processes. Properly executed, this type of digital transformation will get candidates through the hiring pipeline, professionally trained and productive in significantly less time than current methods. In addition, the project will yield a 20-30% improvement in HR staff productivity.

Finance and Accounting: Automating accounting processes such as accounts payable with friction-less, highly secure payment processes that reduce manual steps and enable early pay discounts. Reduces risk and eliminates redundant tasks and focuses internal staff on higher value work.

Logistics: Well beyond shipping and receiving automation, digital transformation of logistics creates the data visibility required to support a company’s sales cycles and value generation. Specifically in the Amazon era companies “available to promise” and “promise for delivery” capability is the pre-requisite for a B2C company, something that enhanced technology development can insure. In addition, it also allows for improved inventory turns and higher margin sales.

Sales & Marketing: Not only sales process automation and pipeline tracking but well integrated website SEO and marketing CRM to insure the highest return on a companies marketing and sales investment.

Customer Service: Rapid, accurate, well timing customer support is achieved by blending persistent knowledge sharing with a highly automated customer support system. Improving a company’s investment in the CS area requires a relentless push for employment productivity, supported by an effective departmental digital transformation.

Now let’s consider technology and digital transformation through the eyes of the client, customer or competitor. Recent examples include:

Product Selection & Delivery: Rapid fulfillment of well-priced goods and services equate to higher sales and a high level of customer satisfaction.

Innovation and New Business Models: The ability to adapt and make key changes to older business models that are no longer effective in a post-Covid world.

Higher Market Share: Companies that undergo successful internal digital transformation routinely improve their market share by 1-3 pts.

Competitive Advantage: A successful digital transformation generally results in reduced costs for most companies and an improved competitive position in the market.

Higher Security: Investing in the best security technology for your digital platforms, in order to best protect your data and that of your customers.

Customer Experience: User experience is key in the post-Covid world. With many services now moving online, users are looking for the easiest and most responsive virtual customer experience possible – so make sure you are investing in this aspect of your business.

If you are a CEO, it’s important to look inside your company for manual business processes, information bottlenecks, overstaffed departments, slow shipments, and a general lack of data visibility. If you lost customers and market share in the pandemic and are ready for a countermeasure plan now is the time. The cure for all of this is a comprehensive Digital Transformation inclusive of the necessary business process changes and employee education and training required to make it a success. After all, this post-Covid era is the time to refocus your energies on transforming your businesses.

Here at Compass Point Partners, we are the group of experts who can help you to prepare and execute effective digital transformation strategies, particularly in a post covid digital world. If you feel your business can benefit from our expertise then please get in touch with us today, and one of our knowledgeable team members will be able to provide you with the information you need to go forward with our help.

Author

James Sharp is an Operating Executive at Compass Point Partners. In this role Jim partners with the firm’s leadership to develop transformational and innovative growth strategies for its clients.

With 30+ years of experience in B2B technology solutions, Jim has a demonstrated track record of leading operational turnarounds, integrating bolt on acquisitions, and driving cost savings.

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